Saturday Night Serial
by KCUrquhart
Summary: The Doctor has just regenerated into his 12th form. He is alone and unsure of what to expect next. But meeting an old friend and discovering a television show dedicated to him isn't it.
1. Chapter 1

The Tardis was dark and quiet. The Doctor moved around it solemnly, trying not to think about the last few weeks. Trying not to remember everything that had happened. It'd been so hard, this last regeneration. It had hurt worse than any of the others. Mostly because this time, when he woke up, he was completely alone.

He hated being alone.

He wished River was here. Or Rose. Or Sarah Jane. Or Jamie. Or even Ian and Barbara. But they were all off, all the better for being away from him. Maybe he shouldn't have regenerated. He only had one more left now, so he wouldn't have been cutting his life too short. Just a few hundred years, a thousand if he stayed out of trouble. He smiled half-heartedly at the thought. He could never stay out of trouble. Mostly cause he went looking for it. He needed the distraction.

A sigh escaped his lips as he flipped a switch on the console absent-mindedly. BANG! The room exploded. Sparks were flying everywhere and the room was shaking chaotically. The Doctor was forced to cling to the railing to avoid being tossed around. The shaking slowed and he managed to clamber to the monitor. He punched a few buttons but the screen stayed black. "Come on old girl. Where are you going?"

SLAM! The Tardis landed hard, throwing him to the ground. He stood up gingerly. It felt like he'd bruised a rib or two but his hearts were still beating away, so that was good. He grabbed an old red fire extinguisher from below the console and darted about the room, dousing the flames. Task finished he threw it aside with a metallic clatter and dashed back to the monitor. He typed furiously, trying to figure out what'd gone wrong and where they'd ended up. The screen still stayed black. "Oh come on!" He smacked the screen.

It flickered a couple of times before staying on. "Where are we?" The Tardis looked to have landed in some sort of abandoned warehouse. He could see stacks of wooden boxes and furniture covered in dusty white sheets. He couldn't help but feel disappointed. For a moment he thought this was going to be an adventure. "Just a boring old warehouse." He muttered with a sigh, turning to flop into one of the pilot's seats.

He had barely moved when an all too familiar voice crackled over the scanner.

Sometimes the universe seemed to have a cruel sense of humour. He had wished for an adventure, but not this. Not to meet one of them. Not here, not now. He closed his eyes, hoping he had heard wrong but a woman's scream told him otherwise. He grabbed his coat off the coat rack and sprinted from the Tardis, making sure to lock it behind him, as the metallic screech came again.

"Exterminate!"


	2. Chapter 2

Danika's phone buzzed and she scrambled to dig it out of her pocket while staying in her lane. She glanced at the caller ID and smiled at seeing 'Dad'. She pushed the answer button and lifted it up to her ear, cradling it against her shoulder as she swerved to avoid some idiot driving ten under the speed limit.

"Hey Dad, what's up?" She flipped off the driver as she passed, cursing under her breath.

"Just letting you know that we got a call about a rogue Jessifin. Wondering if you wanted to join us." The familiar voice crackled with static. Danika groaned. She loved catching Jessifin. They always put up a good fight.

"Sorry Dad, can't. I have a package to deliver over to GCP. You know, part of my job." She said sarcastically, looking over unconsciously at the brown cardboard box in the passenger's seat.

"Well I told you not to take that job with UNIT. There was no point when you could just keep doing freelance with your mum and me."

"Well excuse me for wanting to make my own name in the world and not ride the coattails of my two amazing alien hunting parents."

"Didn't stop you from using your mum's past job experience with UNIT to help you get in."

"I got accepted into UNIT because I knew more about aliens than anyone else who'd worked there for decades. Now, I need to go. Some idiot lorry is trying to pass a caravan. Have fun with the Jessifin."

"And you have fun at your boring ol meeting with Adam."

"And say hi to Max for me." Mickey Smith threw in the last comment before hanging up. He knew Danika would be fuming at his teasing but he couldn't help it. She was his only kid and she was so strong and independent, so much like her mother. Sometimes he needed to say something to remind himself that she was still his little girl.

"Was that Danika?" Martha asked. She entered the kitchen, two large black duffel bags over her shoulders. "Is she coming?"

"Nah, she has a meeting with Adam." Mickey crossed to where Martha had thrown the bags onto the counter. She was now piling in various tools and weapons. Mickey stood behind her, wrapping his arms around her. He inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of her strawberry shampoo. "What'd ya say, Mrs. Smith." He whispered in her ear. "Ready to go catch us an alien?"

She smiled and cocked the semi-automatic in her hands. "Always."


	3. Chapter 3

The car park was nearly deserted when Danika arrived. Which was strange, as she was pretty sure they were filming today. But maybe it was just a small crew today, or a secret scene. The thought excited her. She loved secret scene days; Adam was always as jumpy as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. Just coughing too loud could send him diving for cover. Oh, she hoped it was a secret scene day. That would almost make up for not getting to go hunt the Jessifin.

Danika waved her UNIT security badge at the guard who smiled and waved her in. She pulled her black standard-issue Land Rover into her designated parking spot, a perk of being part of UNIT and clambered out. She'd been to the studio hundreds of times but it never failed to amaze her. The building was shaped like a giant pyramid with the outer walls made completely of cobalt blue glass. Of course, that's why they called it Great Cobalt Pyramid studios. Her dad had told her that they'd built the studio exactly where Torchwood Four had once stood but she didn't believe him.

The lobby was empty except for Tina the receptionist. Danika smiled and said hello but didn't stop walking. Tina tended to gab and the box she was carrying was heavy. Plus, she was a few minutes early and was hoping she'd get a chance to see Max really quick.

; ; ;

The Doctor was running. Running as fast as his legs would carry him through the maze of wooden crates. He hadn't even had a chance to check what he looked like now. He hoped it was ginger. Twelve goes and he had yet to be a ginger. It was unfair. He stopped at a crossroads and whipped out his sonic, planning on doing an alien tech scan to point him in the right direction. It proved unnecessary when another feminine scream came from his right. He ran in that direction, not bothering to pocket the sonic.

A dozen more twists and turns led him to a path that dead ended into a plain wooden door. He could hear movement beyond and only hesitated a second before barging through it. Beyond was a startlingly white hallway, early 23rd century if he had to guess by the artwork on the walls. But more important was the Dalek bearing down on a blonde woman in the corner.

He didn't think, didn't hesitate. The Doctor threw himself in front of the Dalek, flinging his arms wide to protect the girl. "Leave her alone!" He raised the sonic, brandishing it like a weapon. He shouted over his shoulder "Run!"

But the woman didn't move. She just stared up at him, slack-jawed and silent. Frozen in shock, he figured. A Dalek could do that. He took in the Dalek before him. It was older, like the ones from before the progenitor. And it was as silent as the woman. It should be shouting at him. Screaming 'Exterminate' or asking who he was. Why wasn't it? It didn't make sense. No, something was wrong here.

The thought had barely crossed his mind when a deep voice shouted "Cut!" The Doctor turned and noticed for the first time that the hallway simply ended after 15 feet. After that was a line of huge black cameras and men with boom poles. At least a dozen people. All staring at him. And in the very center of the group, a squat man in cowboy boots with a look on his face that suggested there was a third boot up his butt.

"Who are you and how did you get onto my set?" The man growled.

"Set?..." The Doctor turned the word over in his mind, scanning his memory for all of the definitions for the word. Set: a group or collection of things that belonged together; a fixed number of repetitions of a bodybuilding exercise; an arrangement of the hair when damp so that it dries in the required style; a collection of scenery, stage furniture, and other articles used for a particular scene in a play or film… Of course! That had to be it! This was a show or a movie! These were actors. There was never a real Dalek at all. He nearly laughed for joy until the truth of it caught up to him.

The Dalek.

"Where did you get that?" He pointed at the Dalek. But the cowboy ignored him. "I asked you first. Who are you?"

"Fine, I'm The Doctor, if you must know. Now…" He was cut off by a series of groans from the cast and crew members. The cowboy rolled his eyes. The Dalek behind them whined, "Not another one."


	4. Chapter 4

Danika knocked on Max's dressing room door but entered before waiting for a response. She knew he'd be lying on the sofa practicing lines. He always got so engrossed in it that she'd once been able to sit down on top of him and watch telly for 20 minutes before he realized she was there. Sure enough he was sprawled out, thick stack of white papers in hand. He was muttering something about fish from space under his breath.

She slammed the door shut behind her loudly, hoping to get his attention. It didn't work. She carefully set down the box she was holding and sat down on the sofa. She had to squeeze by his legs, but he must have noticed her at least a little because he shifted them to give her more room.

Danika had been hoping to get to discuss the contents of the cardboard box with Max but she knew better than to interrupt him while he was reading a script. He took his job very seriously, said it was the most important job in the world, and they had been dating for a six months before he even let her into his dressing room. Even then she'd had to promise not to get in the way of his work. So she settled herself deeper into the sofa and reached for the remote to turn on the television.

To her surprise it was already on, just muted. It was on some news program, she wasn't sure which. She knew from experience how much the media lied and covered up the truth. But the scroll at the bottom caught her attention. _**Ten Years Later. Remembering 2029**__._ She turned up the volume.

"The Prime Minister dispelled rumours of delays in the opening of the 2029 Memorial today during a press conference. He assured the public that all efforts were being made to ensure that the Memorial was finished not only on time, but in perfect condition. He was quoted as saying that this Memorial is more than just a slab of stone; it is a reminder of the devastation of that day and a testament to the courage and unity that it inspired. It stands not only for every life lost, but for every hero gained."

Danika sniffled and bit her bottom lip. It didn't seem like it had been ten years already. She'd only been 17 then. So young. She'd always considered herself a strong person, but the things she'd seen that day. Her throat tightened at the memories that came flooding back. She hastily pushed the mute button again, wiping away the tear that had slipped from her eye.


	5. Chapter 5

The Doctor stared at the Dalek, dumbfounded, as the top flipped back and a tiny little man stepped out. The blonde woman, who he now realized must be an actress, stormed past him. "I'll be in my dressing room. Come get me once you figure out how to keep out the nutters." She snapped before disappearing behind the line of camera crew, who gave her a wide berth. "If she's taking a break then so am I" said the Dalek man as he followed her out.

"Anyone else think that they're more important than our deadline?" The cowboy asked angrily. The crew didn't answer. They all dropped their gaze and shuffled their feet. The cowboy turned back and glared at the Doctor. He reached to his hip and unclipped a small silver walkie talkie. "Hey Susie, mind telling me how the Head of Security let another nutter slip past her? I don't want to have to take this to Mr. Mitchell but I will if I have to."

"Bring the intruder to my office please Gary." The cowboy, Gary, paled. His face so white that it almost matched the whites of his eyes. That wasn't the voice he had been expecting to hear. The Doctor was sure of that. After all, it had been a man's voice that had spoken.

"M-Mr. Mitchell" he stammered. "I'm sorry. I must have the wrong channel. I was trying to reach Susie Forman in Security."

"I know who you were trying to reach Gary. Now, bring the intruder to my office." The voice was smooth and even scratched and full of static it oozed authority. Gary seemed to flounder under it. He muttered something about it being below Mr. Mitchell's worth. That it wasn't worth his time. But Mr. Mitchell kept insisting until finally Gary just nodded and clipped the walkie talkie back on his belt. "Come on" he said to the Doctor. "The big guy wants to see ya."

;;;

The Scottish manor echoed with the sound of the alarm. The man ran down the stairs, jumping over the last few steps. He landed lightly and continued sprinting down corridors. He ducked into his study, a room of wood paneled walls and green leather furniture and a large spinning chair situated behind a mahogany desk. He flung himself into the chair. He flipped the top of the desk, revealing a large keyboard and typed a few commands into it. The blaring alarm stopped and the paneling behind him slid open to reveal a wall of screens.

He spun around with a flourish and studied the screens. Across the bottom of them all was a narrow red band with flashing white text: _**CODE 2319**_. He frowned and typed another command into the keyboard. One of the images enlarged to fill up the whole wall of screens. It showed a corner of an old warehouse with a large blue box in the center of it. He growled, frustrated. "Of course!"

He watched as a figure entered the screen. The woman approached the Tardis, laying a smooth dark hand on it. She felt it, stroked it almost. He leaned forward, trying to see her face, but it was hidden by her long dark hair. "Is that?..." He watched, waiting. "But it can't be… How did she?... Unless." Realization hit him followed by panic. He knew who that was and he knew that she knew all about the Doctor and the Tardis, but her being there wasn't good. That girl was too much like her mother for her own good.

He stood up and ran out of the study. He paused in the entryway long enough to shrug on his long blue military coat before heading out the door.


	6. Chapter 6

The Doctor followed an eerily quiet Gary into a large posh office. The far wall was a giant bookcase, overflowing with books and knick-knacks. One wall was made entirely of glass and overlooked the studio floor. He could see the bright lights reflecting off the white walls of the hallway set. The wall across from this was made of blue glass and looked out over the Scottish countryside. The final wall, with the door, had a single large picture above a table with a single golden statue on it.

Gary stopped a few steps into the office. He stared across it at the man behind a modern glass desk. Or, more accurately, at the back of the man's head. The man, who the Doctor assumed must be Mr. Mitchell, simply nodded and waved his hand. "Of course sir." Gary half-bowed and scurried from the room.

"Please sit down my dear Doctor." Mr. Mitchell said. The Doctor crossed to one of the two chairs in front of the desk. He perched on the edge of it, cautious.

"You called me Doctor?"

"Of course I did. That's your name, isn't it?"

"Your friends don't seem to agree. Thought I was some kind of nutter. Though I may have to agree with them. I must be going mad, seeing a Dalek shell on a set."

"Ah, yes. I guess you don't know about SNS yet. How old are you? What regeneration is this? 12? 13?"

The Doctor stared at the tuft of greying hair sticking up over the chair. Who was this mysterious man who knew so much about him? And why did he know so much when no one else did? If they were working with Daleks, surely his name had come up. He didn't want it to, but it hurt his ego slightly.

"How do you know who I am?" The Doctor demanded.

Mr. Mitchell chuckled. "Your face may have changed, but you're an impossible man to forget Doctor. Even after 30 plus years."

The Doctor was growing frustrated. This man was toying with him now and he wasn't going to put up with it much longer. "Who are you?"

"Really Doctor? Did I make so fleeting of an impression? I guess I was just being silly for thinking that maybe you'd remember me after all these years. But I told myself, how many people does he throw out of the Tardis? How many people get the chance of a lifetime and throw it all away in a moment of greed? Still, I had hoped. Though I really stood so little chance. After all, all your attention was spent on Rose. Not that I blame you."

The Doctor felt as if the wind had been knocked out of his body. It was like he'd just fallen off a skyscraper. His mind was free-falling, in a panic, clawing at anything it could find to try and save itself. It failed. Landing hard on the smooth tarmac that was the memories of her. Her face, her laugh, the feel of her hand in his… Regenerations and hundreds of years hadn't lessened the impact that she could have on him. He'd just had less reason to be reminded.

After recovering from the shock of hearing Rose's name, he focused back on the man across from him. Who had he and Rose travelled with? Only a handful of people. A good deal of whom were locked in another universe. But who had he thrown out? He ran back through everything, starting from the day at Henrik's when he had met Rose. A half a second later he had it. He was shocked it had taken him so long to figure it out. It was so obvious.

He raised his hand and slowly, deliberately, snapped his fingers. He couldn't resist smirking at the metallic whir that followed. "That's considered impolite now, you know." The man snapped his fingers and turned around. The Doctor just glimpsed the door in the man's head clicking shut as he found himself face-to-face with Adam Mitchell.


	7. Chapter 7

The Doctor guessed that Adam was in his mid-fifties. His salt-and-pepper hair was thinning and he had deep-set wrinkles under his eyes. Beyond the subtle details he looked only vaguely like the man he had been when the Doctor had thrown him out of the Tardis. His eyes were softer and didn't have the same sharp quickness to them. The look in them scared the Doctor because he recognized it all too well. It was the same weariness and sorrow that he saw every time he looked in the mirror.

"Adam Mitchell. I have to say, not who I expected to meet when I woke up this morning." He smiled slightly. He wasn't really sure if seeing Adam was something he liked or not. He didn't often run into people once he'd said good-bye. Whenever he did it ended badly. Like having to erase Donna's memories, or Wilf knocking four times, or Sarah Jane's death. See, this is why he hated seeing old faces. Even if things didn't go terribly wrong, which would surely happen, it would bring back all the memories he tried to forget.

"Same here Doctor. It's been a long time. I didn't expect it to take so long for you to show up here. I mean, a show about you. That's something even you can't miss."

"What do you mean, a show about me?"

"Well what do you think SNS is? Why do you think we have a Dalek? That thing still scares by the way. I know it's a prop, but still…" Adam shuddered. The Doctor couldn't blame him. One encounter with a Dalek was more than enough for a lifetime. But what did he mean by a show about him? Why would they do something silly like that? Who knew enough about him to bother trying? His mind buzzed with questions. He asked the first one that popped out. "SNS?"

Adam laughed. "It stands for Saturday Night Serial. It's a horrible name, I know. It was just the working title we came up with and it got leaked. For some stupid reason the public liked it so we didn't bother changing it."

"But a show about me? Why?"

Adam laughed again, but it was sadder. "Because you went and did something so big that it couldn't be covered up or explained away. People were asking questions and they thought up this show as a way to answer them."

"Oh, good. Cause for a minute there I was scared that you were exploiting your time with me to make yourself filthy rich." The Doctor gestured to the lavish decorations around the room. He wasn't sure if he was joking or not. He hoped it wasn't true, but it seemed like something the Adam he knew would do.

"I didn't create the show, Mickey and Martha did. I just got stuck running it because they couldn't be bothered to give up their freelancing. And all of the profits from the show go to charity." The Doctor raised his eyebrows, impressed. So Adam had changed. He wondered what it was that had changed him. Wait a second, Mickey and Martha?

"Mickey Mouse and Martha Jones?" He nearly leaped out of his chair.

"The very same."

The Doctor's head was reeling. "So let me see if I understand. A future me did something huge, bigger than ever before" Adam interrupted, "Not bigger, just impossible to explain away. Hallucinogens in the water supply only works so many times." The Doctor nodded and continued. "Alright, so I did something that got the world's attention. People start asking questions, about me, who I am, alien invaders, that sort of thing, right?" Adam nodded. "So Mickey and Martha decide that the best course of action is to create a television show about me that somehow involves a Dalek."

"That's the quick version, yeah. But the show isn't just about Daleks. We throw in any alien we know of. Sycorax, Slitheen, Judoon, Sontarans. You name it, we've done a show about it."

"But if the show is to inform people, why did I see a Dalek about to exterminate a woman?"

"People are simple. They learn best when they're entertained."

"A Dalek is not entertaining!" The Doctor suddenly was standing, hands on the desk. Furious. Adam flinched but otherwise didn't move. He met the Doctor's eye. They stared at each other for a second until the Doctor's anger lessened somewhat. He took his arms off the desk but stayed standing.

"I'm the first person to agree with you Doctor. But ratings don't lie. We're the highest rated show worldwide for the last 8 years straight. And while those of us who have met the aliens in real life tend to find the show a tad … unnerving, the fact stands that there isn't a single person on the planet who doesn't know the basic alien weaknesses. That with Daleks you aim for the eyestalk or for the probic vents on a Sontaran or that when it comes to the Vashta Nerada you should count the shadows and hope for the best."

The Doctor slowly lowered himself back into the chair. Adam seemed genuine enough. He guessed he could handle the idea of a prop Dalek nearly giving him hearts attacks if it was helping the public. Something about it still bothered him though. Just a little nagging feeling at the corner of his mind that he couldn't quite name. He focused his mind inward, planning on sorting it out.

"Would you like to come with me to meet Mickey and Martha's daughter?" Adam's question pushed all thoughts of the nagging issue out of his mind.

"Absolutely!" The Doctor said, beaming. They stood and the Doctor moved to follow Adam out of the office when he noticed the picture on the wall. He'd glimpsed it before but he had been too distracted to give it a second thought. Now it had all of his attention. He knew what the picture was supposed to be, but why was it on Adam's office wall. He took a step closer, to examine it.

Adam had noticed his attention. He was rambling on about the picture, explaining that it was a still from their fifth season finale. Saying that it was the most watched television event in history; over 8 billion viewers. The Doctor was only half listening. He was staring, entranced, at the picture. There were five people in it, standing on an otherwise empty beach. A man and woman were on one side, a single older woman on the other. In the very center was a young couple. The man looked exactly like the one in the background, just with different clothes. The woman. His hearts stopped as he saw her. She didn't look exactly like her but was still blonde and pink enough for him to get the idea of who she was supposed to be. Rose.

"Bad Wolf Bay." The words slipped from the Doctor's lips in a reverent whisper. The Doctor reached out a hand to touch the picture but caught himself at the last second. He snapped out of his reverie and turned to Adam, plastering a smile on his face. "So, what'd the Mickester name his daughter?"


	8. Chapter 8

The Doctor followed Adam through a series of twisting hallways teeming with people. Half of the walls were made of a deep blue glass. Where the glass stopped the walls were painted Tardis blue and were plastered with various memorabilia. There were framed pictures of actors on red carpets. He had fun trying to figure out which of his old companions each of the actors was supposed to be. Intermixed with these were cut-outs from newspapers and magazines and more stills from episodes like the one in Adam's office. These hit him like a brick. It was like seeing a gallery of his life through a fun house mirror. He could see a scene with the Rose-like woman and a man he guessed to be Mickey, and – was that supposed to be Reinette? He hated it. He'd spent so many years running from those memories and now here they were, staring back at him.

"Conference Room C. In here Doctor" Adam led the Doctor into a large blue room with a young woman sitting at the far end of a table. He knew instantly who it was; there was only one person it could be. She looked just like Martha. Same rich brown skin, same long black hair, and as she turned to see who had entered the room he saw the same brown eyes staring back at him. The warmth in those eyes melted his hearts the same way Martha's always had. He'd forgotten how much he missed those eyes.

"Hello Adam, who's this?" She stood and started across the room, hand outstretched.

"Well Danika, this is the Doctor." Adam gave an amused chuckle as realization crossed Danika's face. She faltered, hand only half-way up. When she recovered she snapped to a full military salute. The Doctor groaned. He turned to Adam "You didn't tell me she was a soldier." He whined.

"Must have slipped my mind. She's a Lieutenant with UNIT. She's our liaison that gets us all the cool alien tech and artifacts that we use on the show. Like the Dalek shell for instance." Adam realized that Danika was still at attention and looked confused. "Danika, what are you doing?"

"Acknowledging a superior officer, sir." She snapped in a quick military tone.

The Doctor rolled his eyes. She was referring, of course, to his time working for UNIT. He needed to hand in an official resignation or something one of these days. He was getting tired of salutes. "At ease, Lt." She shifted to the stiff 'at-ease' position that the military used. "No, all the way, Danika." She relaxed fully, breaking out into a huge grin. She paused a second, seeming to debate something in her head. Then she threw her arms around him. The movement surprised him but he welcomed it. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. It was so comforting.

Adam coughed awkwardly when they didn't break apart after a few seconds. The Doctor slowly realized that he was still in a conference room on Earth. For a minute, in Danika's arms, he could almost imagine that he was back with Martha fighting aliens. That none of the last few hundred years had happened. He dropped his arms and Danika took a step back, mumbling something under her breath. "Huh?" The Doctor asked.

"Nothing." Danika said.

"Come on, what'd ya say?" He said in a sing-song voice.

"I said," she said reluctantly, "that it was about time you showed your skinny butt. Oh!" she perked up suddenly. "I can't wait to tell my parents! They'd love to get a chance to catch up. They have so many questions for you. Especially Mum about…" Adam coughed loudly, interrupting her. "Oh, has he not done that yet?" Adam shook his head. "Okay then. Well still. They'll want you to come over for dinner. How long are you going to be here? Knowing you, only for a few hours. Though it'd be nice if you would actually stay for a few days this time."

"What'd you bring for me today?" Adam cut her off mid-tangent. Danika went with the topic change. She practically bounced back to the other end of the table where a large cardboard box was sitting. The Doctor mouthed a quick thanks to Adam as they crossed the room after her. Adam just nodded his head knowingly.

Danika had opened up the box and was elbow deep into it. The Doctor tried to see over her shoulder into it but her hair blocked his view. He huffed, annoyed. A moment later she lifted out a large black object and set it on the table. She took a step back so that the Doctor and Adam could get a closer look. The Doctor didn't hesitate. He swooped in to examine the object. It was a solid piece of some sort of rectangular black stone. It looked a bit like Frolium from the Coroser Galaxy but he couldn't be sure. There were faint lines etched into it going every which way.

"Any idea what it is?" Adam asked.

"I was hoping you could tell me." Danika said. "We found it in a field near Cardiff last year. We've run every test we could think of on them but got nothing."

"What about you Doctor?"

The Doctor shook his head. He'd never seen anything like this before. He wondered what it was for. It'd obviously taken a lot of work. The lines were so thin and delicate. Whoever had etched them must have had a very steady hand. But why etch them in the first place? What was the point of a black stone box? Wait a second – them? "There's a second box?"

Danika shook her head. "No, but we found an orb with it." She reached back into the box and hefted out a glass orb about the size of a crystal ball. The Doctor held out a hand for it and she passed it to him. It was a lot heavier than he had expected and he fumbled it, almost dropping it. Danika and Adam both moved to catch it but he managed to keep ahold of it. He lifted it up to examine it. It looked to be filled with some sort of white smoke that obscured his view. The outside of the glass was etched with thin lines like the black box was.

He turned and started pacing in wider and wider circles. He could hear Adam and Danika talking but he wasn't paying attention to them. His full attention was on the orb in his hands. Where had it come from? It'd been found in Cardiff, so it'd fallen through the rift, obviously. But beyond that? Which galaxy? What time zone? And what was it for? How did it go with the box? They were like some sort of matched pair. Suddenly he felt like he'd hit a wall. He tried to take a step forward but couldn't. He could move to the left and right but never any further forward. It was like an invisible wall was bisecting the room. But he'd walked through this spot earlier. He'd had to walk past here when he had hugged Danika. So why couldn't he now? What had changed? The only thing different was – the orb!

Truth hit him followed immediately by a theory that itched to be tested. He bounded back across the room to where the box was still lying on the table. Danika and Adam perked up at his sudden change. "What'd you find?" Danika asked.

"Did you ever test the orb and box separately?"

Danika looked confused and answered slowly. "We did tests on them individually, yes."

"But did you ever test them in separate rooms?" He pressed.

"No, I guess not. Is that important?"

"Why?"

"What?"

"Why didn't you test them in separate rooms?" Danika just shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. "It's because you couldn't." He offered. He was growing excited. It'd been a while since he'd gotten a chance to do the whole explain-the-obvious thing. "The box and the orb are part of a set. There must be some sort of invisible link between them that keeps the two together. Like a high-tech way of making sure that you don't lose one of the pieces. The tie wouldn't let me get more than ten feet away from the box while holding the orb."

"So?" Adam asked. "What does any of that matter? I mean, sure, it's cool that there's a way to keep the two parts together, but…"

"It's important because, why keep two things together unless they are meant to be together? Unless they are supposed to go together in order to do something else? Have you tried that yet? Putting them together?" Danika shook her head. "Every time we tried something else came up and prevented it. Like there was something telling us not to…"

The Doctor smiled and crouched down next to the table. He held out the orb and positioned it a few centimeters above the stone box. Both Adam and Danika moved unconsciously to stop him. He hesitated, smiling at the little nagging feeling at the base of his neck. "That feeling, the little voice in the back of your head telling you not to do something. The voice of reason that warns you when you're about to do something ridiculously stupid. It's screaming at me right now." The Doctor was just saying his thoughts aloud. "I've heard that little voice a lot over the years. You want to know the funny thing though?" He asked. "What?" Danika whispered tentatively. "I never listen." With that he lowered the orb.


	9. Chapter 9

The Doctor set the orb down onto the stone and took a step back. Nothing happened. He felt a sense of disappointment in his gut. He hated when his theories were wrong. Oh well, time to find a new one. Just as he dismissed the idea of anything happening the orb started to glow. It filled with a pulsating orange light so intense the room was bathed in its glow. Then the light seemed to seep out of it, pouring along the lines of the stone. It wrapped around the box until every crevice was full. Then the sound came. A blaring alarm that cut through the air, the wave of sound throwing them to the ground. The Doctor covered his ears against the noise.

;;;;

Forty miles away Martha dropped to her knees as a sharp siren slammed against her ears. She saw Mickey drop to the ground as well, clutching his ears. Even the Jessefin was covering the orange slits that served as its auditory receptors. She looked around, wondering where it was coming from. She scanned the sky but couldn't see anything. She turned to Mickey and saw her own concern mirrored there. They were both thinking the same thing: What did Danika do now?

;;;;

UNIT HQ in London received a warning a split second before the sound wave hit. Colonel Brighton had just enough time to open the drawer with his earplugs. The alarm was still deafening even through the plugs. He strode out of his office and to the main floor. Dozens of workers were still busily typing away, only the grimaces on their faces betraying the pain the noise was causing. He looked up at the wall of monitors. The main screen showed a map location; the source of the commotion. He should have known. He signaled to Lieutenant Davies to gather the troops. They were heading to GCP studios.

;;;;

The Doctor crawled to his knees and over to the conference table. Still clutching his ears, he used his elbows to try and knock the orb off of the box. It didn't move. He tried again. Still nothing. He leaned against it and pushed with all of his might. The orb moved suddenly, slipping off the box and clattering down onto the floor. The moment it was free of the box the light vanished and the sound ceased. The silence echoed worse than the siren had. He rubbed at his ears, trying to stop the ringing.

"Everyone okay?" He asked. He heard a faint incoherent mumble. He turned to see both Danika's and Adam's mouths moving but the sounds were muffled and blurred. They were both standing and he didn't see any blood. That was good then. "Anything broken?" The Doctor could hear his voice more distinctly now. He could just barely make out the others' affirmations that they were fine.

"What was that?" Danika asked. The Doctor just shrugged.

"Well whatever it was," Adam said, "it isn't good news for us. What do you think Dan, Protocol 9?"

"I think that would be best. Shall I call Col. Brighton or shall you?"

"I can do it. You switch over to Base Mode."

"Can do." She yelled at Adam's retreating figure as he ran from the room. A second later anther siren sounded. This one seemed laughably tiny compared to the last one. Though this one had flashing lights to accompany it. "Come on Doctor. Time to show you what this place can really do."

She led the way out of the room at a full sprint. The Doctor felt himself coming alive as his legs stretched out. The thump of each step sent a wave of comfort through him. No matter what else was happening, no matter who he was with, this one thing never changed. There was always running. A small laugh escaped him as he darted past a fleeing office worker. Their look of confusion made him laugh even harder. He wished it didn't involve risk to innocent people, but this life of adventure was something he wouldn't trade for anything.

He followed Danika through a set of sliding glass doors and out onto the studio floor. They passed a handful of sets in various stages of completion. He didn't recognize any of them. They passed by a rack of alien costumes. He recognized most of these. Fat green rubber suits that looked like Slitheen were hanging next to scaly green suits that must be for Silurians. Though to be honest the coloring was a bit off. They ended up at a massive set that towered over everything else. Danika ran straight onto it without hesitating but he stopped dead at the edge of it.

The walls were a pale grey and the floor was a polished hexagonal stone pattern. A raised platform in the center was made of clear glass supported by steel beams. Stairs in the back led up from the platform to a walkway that circled around the upper level of the space. A glass column rose through the very center. Around the column were angled metal panels covered in levers and buttons. He knew exactly what this was supposed to be. It looked nothing like how it should. It was too posh and clean and modern yet the resemblance was unmistakable. It was the Tardis.


	10. Chapter 10

"I don't care about how long it'll take to redo it. It's a Protocol 9. That means leave!" Adam slammed the phone shut. People could be so difficult sometimes. Protocol 9 meant everyone evacuated. No exceptions. Well, except him and Danika, though technically he was supposed to leave as well. Not that he was going to. He'd been waiting 10 years for this day. The day the Doctor came back. The day he finally got to say he was sorry. The day he could finally show the Doctor that'd he'd changed. He wasn't the selfish little git he used to be. Today was the day he could finally prove himself worthy and make up for his past mistakes.

The phone rang. Oops. He'd forgotten that he'd had Col. Brighton on the other line. He flipped the phone open. "Sorry Sir, I -" He began apologizing but the Colonel cut him off.

"Save it Mr. Mitchell. Fill me in on the situation."

"An alarm of some sort."

"I heard." The Colonel interrupted again. Adam gritted his teeth. He hated talking to Col. Brighton.

"Right, yes, well I've initiated Protocol 9."

"As you should. Yet I see you're calling from your office."

"I'm staying here sir. I'll help Danika with the switch to Base Mode."

"I am sure Lt. Smith can handle such a simple task herself. You are to evacuate with the rest of the civilians."

"But…" He knew he had to tell the Colonel the truth but he hesitated. Col Brighton wouldn't like the fact that the Doctor was here. The two hadn't been on the best of terms after their last confrontation and he was certain the Colonel would bring it up constantly. Which wasn't good when the Doctor here hadn't met the Colonel yet. "It's a Code Blue, sir." He said finally. The sharp inhale over the line told him that he'd been right. Adam heard Col. Brighton mutter something to someone at his end that he couldn't make out.

"We'll be there in 10 minutes."

There was a click and the line went dead. 10 minutes? They'd been in London. How were they going to get here in 10 minutes? Maybe they had some sort of alien tech that could do superfast travel. Wouldn't surprise him. He just wished they'd release the tech to the public once in a while. He had to travel to London all the time for meetings and a gadget that could get him there in 10 minutes rather than the 6 hour train ride would be fantastic.

;;;;

"Are you coming up, Doctor?" Danika was standing at the faux-Tardis' console. He still hadn't recovered from the shock of seeing a Tardis here. He should have guessed, but, still… It bothered him. This whole place bothered him. There was something… off about it. He shook it off and bounced up the stairs to join Danika. She was pushing buttons on a strange hexagonal keyboard. He noted the hexagonal monitor above it. Then the hexagonal shape of the console itself. He looked around the room. The six-sided shape was everywhere. The shape of the beams, the lights in the walls, the doorway at the top of the stairs, even the room itself. All were hexagons.

"What's with the hexagon theme?" he asked.

"Not sure. Set design isn't my area." Danika muttered. She stopped typing and the lights in the warehouse went out. The room fell into blackness and the Doctor forced back the feeling of panic that always came with darkness. He opened his mouth to ask Danika about the lights but was cut short by the flicking on of green emergency lights. The faux-Tardis was cast in an eerie green glow that reminded him of when House had gotten ahold of his own. He pushed back that memory before any more from that day came forward.

"Did you do that?" He waved a hand around at the lights.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Should have warned you. It's part of the process of switching to Base Mode."

"Which is?..."

"This isn't just a television studio, Doctor." Danika smirked slightly. "It's also a fully functioning UNIT Base. All the alien tech that the show uses, yeah, we actually implement some of it into the mainframe. Like this one piece of Dalek tech." She flipped a switch and a holo-screen appeared in front of the far wall. "Salvaged after Canary Warf. Bit old school, but it revolutionized telly when we finally made it public."

The Doctor was only half listening. His mind was stuck on the words 'Canary Warf.' It seemed he couldn't take a step in this place without running across a bad memory. He stared at the screen, which was showing various radars and maps. A blip showed their current location, somewhere in the Scottish highlands. There were various other blips around the world; Geneva, London, New York. UNIT Bases if he had to guess.

"Anything headed our way?" Both Danika and the Doctor jumped at Adam's voice. They hadn't heard him approach.

"Not that I see." Danika said. "Well, besides the Colonel in the Valiant II." She pointed to a tiny blue blip that the Doctor had missed. It was moving straight towards them.

"Oh, so that's how he's getting here so fast."

"What's his E.T.A.?"

"Ten minutes. Though that was a couple minutes ago and Colonel Big-britches is probably going to try and make it in half that. 'I don't care what the top speed is. Go faster!'" Adam imitated a rough, snapping voice that caused Danika to laugh.

"I don't think that'll be fast enough." The Doctor pointed to a bright red blip that had appeared on the screen. At the speed it was moving it would be on top of them in less than five minutes. "We've got company."

Danika and Adam both paled slightly. But that could just have been the strange lighting playing tricks on his eyes. "I guess that alarm was louder than I thought." Adam whispered. "What do we do?"

"Well – " The Doctor started.

"We activate the proximity alarm and alert the Colonel as to the Code Blue." Danika interrupted. He looked over at her and saw her flip another switch on the steel and glass console. The green lights grew brighter and a low siren started up. It reminded him of the old air raid sirens. A red 'Proximity Alert' warning flashed on the holo-screen. She reached for the phone at her hip.

"Don't bother." Adam stopped her. "I already told him about the Code Blue."

"And his orders?"

"The only orders that ever accompany a Code Blue."

The Doctor stared back and forth at them. What was a Code Blue? It had to have happened a while ago for Adam to have already told the Colonel. It clicked in his mind. Of course. It was him. "And what are those orders?" He asked snidely. "To babysit me?"

"How do you know – " Danika scrunched her eyebrows in a way that was so like her father that the Doctor almost burst out laughing.

"It's the Doctor. Of course he knows." Adam explained. "And yes, basically."

"Right then." The Doctor grinned so wide his face hurt. He had a plan in mind, and for once, it was going to be fun. "Guess I'd better give you some work to do." He darted down the stairs and out of the faux-Tardis. He heard the two behind him groan and chase after him.


	11. Chapter 11

"Doctor, where are we going?" Danika called.

"You'll see." He called back cheekily. He ducked around another box. He was leading them through the maze of the warehouse, hoping he was headed the right way.

"Do you at least have a plan?" Adam huffed a minute later. He sounded out of breath.

"You'll see." The Doctor was enjoying this.

"This isn't going to end well, is it?" Danika shouted as she nearly took out a dusty sign that read: Vote Saxon.

The Doctor suppressed the chill that ran through his bones at the sight of the words and responded in the same light-hearted tone. "You'll see."

;;;;

The Doctor's heart filled with warmth as his Tardis came into view. He never quite felt whole without it. He'd been starting to worry that maybe he'd gotten lost somehow and he'd never find it again. It was irrational, but he was always irrational when it came to the Tardis. She was his one constant and he couldn't imagine not knowing exactly where she was. Plus, this place was starting to annoy him, with all the bad memories. He needed a reminder of all of the good ones. Which the Tardis most definitely was.

He slid to a stop, bumping into the Tardis slightly. "Hey ol girl." He whispered as he ran his pinky finger along the wood. He thought he could feel her hum in return. He straightened and ran a hand through his hair as he heard footsteps. He hadn't realized how far behind the other two were. He ran his hand through his hair again out of habit.

"Whoa." Danika's eyes grew wide when she rounded the corner. She stopped so suddenly that Adam ran into her. "Sorry." Danika muttered. She stepped out of the way, her eyes never leaving the blue box. Adam slid past a stack of boxes and stood next to her. His face was an emotion the Doctor didn't recognize.

"What do you think?" He asked.

"It's beautiful." Danika's voice was so soft it was almost reverent. "I never imagined…" She took a step forward tentatively. She looked to the Doctor for permission and he nodded. She crossed to the Tardis and put a hand on it. She stoked it softly.

"Adam?" The Doctor turned to Adam who was still standing frozen.

"It's different." Adam said finally.

"Nope. Same old Tardis." The Doctor said.

"Huh. I guess. It just… it seems darker or something."

The Doctor laughed. "It's been a long time since you last saw it. Your memory of it must have changed." Adam nodded. The Doctor reached into his jacket and pulled out the key. He had been planning on snapping his fingers to open the door but thought better of it. It would have unintended consequences for Adam. He slipped the key into the lock and turned it smoothly before pushing the door open. He ushered Danika and Adam inside, saying as they passed. "Plus, the chameleon circuit is broken. Remember?"

The Doctor stepped inside the familiar Tardis, loving how much it didn't look like the glass and steel fake one. All comfort was gone when an unfamiliar voice spoke from further inside.

"You know, you could fix that chameleon circuit if you just hotbind the fragment links and supersede the binary cordex cables."

The Doctor's hearts stopped. A strange woman was standing at his Tardis' console. Her back was to him and the first thing he noticed was the long sheet of dark auburn hair that hung down her back. His blood ran cold as he was filled with a boiling rage. Who was this woman and how did she get into his Tadis. She pushed a few buttons on the console and he lost it.

"Stop it! You could blow a hole in the space-time continuum."

The woman answered without turning around. "Now what would be the point of that?" Her voice was laden with sarcasm. She moved around the console, running her hand along the controls. As she moved more of her came into view. Her skin was dark, but not as dark as Danika's. She was average height and weight. Her flowing Starry Night tank-top made her seem taller and thinner. The deep blue of it somehow highlighted her brown eyes. She was stunning.

"Now," The woman turned to face him, her eyes hard. "let's have some fun."


	12. Chapter 12

The woman pushed a button and the Tardis doors slammed shut. Danika ran back to them and tugged at them desperately. "They're locked." She huffed.

"Well of course they are." The woman smirked. "I locked them." How did she know how to do that? The Doctor's curiosity started to flicker past his annoyance. He was about to ask her when Adam spoke.

"What are you doing here Elle?"

The woman, Elle, chuckled coldly. "Fulfilling a promise."

"You know her?" The Doctor asked Adam. If it wasn't for the look of honest confusion on Adam's face the Doctor would assume he had something to do with this. He didn't rule it out though. Something had been bothering him this whole time. Maybe it was Adam. Maybe he hadn't change as much as the Doctor had thought.

"Elle wo-works for the show." Adam stammered. "She should have evacuated with everyone else."

"And miss all the fun? Don't worry Adam, it's DOW I want. Not you." She winked at Adam.

The Doctor tried to wrap his mind around this woman. "Who?... What?... How?..." He struggled to find the right words.

"You missed when, where, and why." Elle leaned casually against the console.

"Be careful!" The Doctor and Adam shouted together.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to delete any rooms or send us spiraling off into the time vortex or anything. I know what I'm doing." She grinned wickedly. "But I could reverse the gravity…" She pulled a lever and the room seemed to flip. The Doctor, Adam, and Danika all slammed against the ceiling, which was now the floor. His ribs screamed in pain where he had hit them earlier. He struggled to get his breath back. He rolled over to stare up at the console. Elle was still standing next to it, right-side up.

"Why didn't she fall too?" Danika wheezed. She was clutching at her left arm. The Doctor made a mental note to check if she'd broken anything once he got a chance. It would be easier to give her some Tandooli medicine; fixed bones overnight.

"Pocket of recessed gravitational energy." The Doctor explained. Danika and Adam just gaped at him. "It's like a gravity bubble."

"No it's not" Elle shouted down to them. Or was it up? The Doctor tried to stand but found it impossible. "Did I forget to mention that I increased the gravitational intensity as well?"

"What is going on, Elle?" Adam burst out angrily. "How are you doing this?"

"Well, you see this little green button here." Elle laughed at her own joke. The Doctor rolled his eyes.

"What do you want, Elle?" He groaned.

Slam! They fell back to the floor. The Doctor heard and felt the sharp crack of one of his ribs snapping. Pain coursed through him. Each breath felt like knives stabbing into his chest. He groaned softly and felt Danika scoot next to him. "You okay, Doctor?" she whispered. He nodded. Not trusting himself to speak quite yet. The sharpness of the pain was starting to dull a little. He moved to stand up, wincing at the wave of pain through his chest. Danika slipped an arm under his and helped him to his feet.

When he was finally stable, or as stable as he was going to get, he turned to look at Elle. She was staring back at him. Her eyes were full of rage and hatred. "What – " He gasped as talking moved his broken rib. "What do you want?" Elle's mouth twitched slightly.

"Quite simply, DOW. I want you. Dead."


	13. Chapter 13

Colonel Brighton stared at the radar screen, willing for the ship to move faster. They had the engines going at full speed and had already trimmed three minutes off their arrival time. But it still wasn't fast enough. The blinking red blip was going to get there first. He thought of Danika. Mickey and Martha would kill him if anything happened to her. GCP had impressive defenses, but who knew what they were up against. They could only prepare for weapons they knew of. For once he found himself glad of the Doctor's presence. Trouble followed the Doctor like a plague but if anyone could keep Danika safe, it was him. Not that the Colonel would ever admit that.

Sergeant Davies walked up to him, holding a clipboard. "How much longer?" Brighton asked.

"We will be there in three minutes. They will be there in about one." Davies said. Brighton didn't reply. He just stared back at the radar, hoping that, for once, the Doctor would know what was going on.

The Doctor had no idea what was going on. Why did the woman, Elle, a woman he'd never met, want him dead? Why did she keep calling him DOW? How did she know how to operate the Tardis? She knew how to lock the doors, and reverse the gravity. But even more than that. It was like she had operated the Tardis before. The thought gave him goosebumps. Who was this woman who knew so much more than she should?

"Who are you?" He asked.

"Adam told you. I'm Elle."

"That doesn't tell me anything useful."

"That was the point." Elle rolled her eyes. The Doctor felt his patience slipping away. He hated smugness almost as much as he hated people who knew more than he did. He'd already faced enough of those attitudes today. He didn't think he could take much more.

"Doctor…" Adam was looking back and forth between the Doctor and the Tardis doors. The Doctor raised an eyebrow at him questioningly. "That door was locked."

"Yes. She locked it." He pointed accusingly at Elle wondering how Adam had gotten this thick.

"No…" Adam said slowly, apparently thinking the same thing about the Doctor. "It was locked when we got here. You lock it every time you leave it. But she was in here before us."

The Doctor saw where he was going with this. How had he missed that? He had locked the Tardis. He remembered that. So how had Elle gotten in? "How did you get in here?" His voice was harsher than he expected. His annoyance was mixing with the pain in his chest and making it harder to mask his emotions.

Elle reached up to her throat and pulled at a silver chain that the Doctor hadn't noticed. She pulled the necklace out of her shirt. It looked oddly similar to a rosary, silver with little white pearls along the chain, only instead of a cross a single silver key hung from the end. He didn't need to examine it closer, he knew it was a Tardis key.

"Where did you get that?" The Doctor hissed. He was always so careful about giving those out.

"Family heirloom." Elle said nonchalantly, dropping the chain back down her shirt. She suddenly stiffened and looked at her watch. A small smile crossed her lips. "You might want to hold on to something." Elle grabbed the railing around the console area. The Doctor was about to ask her what she meant, what she had done this time, but the answer became obvious as there was an explosion outside.


	14. Chapter 14

The Doctor was thrown to the floor for the second time that day. Dust swirled through the air as the Tadis shook in the shock wave. Another explosion followed the first, then another, and another. The cacophony was deafening. After a minute the shaking stopped. The sound of explosions continued, only muted, like they were a long way off. The Doctor staggered to his feet. He checked behind him to see Danika and Adam doing the same. Danika was pulling a phone from her pocket. Within second she was talking to someone he guessed was her UNIT commander. They both seemed well enough.

Today was getting to be ridiculous. He'd had bad days before, hundreds of them, but it seemed like every time he turned around something else was going wrong. He was going to figure out who it was who was bombing them and how to get them to stop before anyone got hurt. He turned and headed for the console. He had one foot on the bottom step when he saw movement from Elle.

"Don't move." Elle growled. She was holding something in her hand, pointing it straight at him. He stared at the object, trying to identify it. It wasn't typical Earth tech for this time zone. If he had to guess it was some sort of modified sonic blaster. Even without knowing for sure he knew that the object was a threat. He took a step back slowly. "Good boy." Elle practically purred.

"What is that thing?" Adam asked. He wisely hadn't moved from his spot by the door.

"Modified sonic blaster." The Doctor said. From the smile on Elle's face he knew he was right.

"You're only half right, DOW." Elle flipped the device casually and gracefully, moving so fast that her hand was a blur. Suddenly the black hole of the muzzle was replaced by a small purple light. Now the odd stick-like shape of the device made sense.

"That looks like a – " Danika had apparently gotten off of the phone. She had moved so that she was standing only a few feet behind the Doctor.

"Sonic screwdriver." The Doctor said.

"I call it a dual sonic device, or DSD for short." Elle flipped the device back around so that the blaster was pointing at him again.

"Where did you get that?" The Doctor asked. He'd never seen anything like it. Whoever had made it must have been nearly as brilliant as him in order to account for the differing sonic frequencies in a single device.

"I made it." Elle bragged.

"Impossible. Earth doesn't have the technology yet." The Doctor heard Danika scoff behind him. "Even with whatever has fallen through the rift." He added.

Elle smiled and waved the blaster, or DSD, he should at least call it by what it was. "I may have had a little help on the structure of the blaster. But that hardly counts. The model I looked at was outdated and the upgrades on it drained the battery after a few hours. Mine has even more upgrades and an unlimited battery life." She looked smug. She was enjoying herself.

"ENOUGH!" The Doctor screamed. Elle's smile twitched but stayed in place. He could see Danika and Adam flinch. "There are innocent people dying out there. People dropping bombs on us. Now is not the time to play games or show off your shiny toys."

"Wrong." Elle's voice was flat.

"I'm sorry?"

"Adam, did you initiate Protocol 9?" Elle asked. Adam nodded once. "Meaning complete evacuation. That was exactly seven minutes ago. By now, there will be no one within ten miles of here. Except for UNIT and they can handle themselves. Meaning, DOW, there is no one dying. At least, not out there."

"Why do you keep calling him that?" Danika stole the question that the Doctor was about to ask.

"It's his name." Elle said.

"No, his name's the Doctor."

"That's what he goes by, yes." Elle smirked and the Doctor's heart did a little hiccough. "But there is a more truthful name, is there not? A name given by an ancient enemy when your soul was revealed." The Doctor's blood ran cold. He knew what she was talking about. He knew what DOW meant. What he didn't know was how she knew.

"Don't." The Doctor hissed.

"What?" Adam asked.

"You don't want your friends to know the truth about you." It wasn't a question. The Doctor lunged forward, intending to do whatever it took to make sure Elle didn't say reveal too much. BAM! Elle fired a shot high, leaving a scorch mark on the Tardis wall. The Doctor froze. "I said don't move." Elle snapped.

"What does DOW mean? And what did you mean about an ancient enemy?" Danika asked meekly.

"It's from the incident at the Medusa Cascade. DOW is an abbreviation of the name given to him by Davros. It means Destroyer of Worlds."

The Doctor felt his knees go weak but he managed to stay upright. Of all of the horrible memories that today had brought back this had to be the worst. The Medusa Cascade. The day he'd lost everyone. Some for the second time. "You shouldn't know that." His voice cracked and he cleared his throat. "The only people there that day are either in another universe or would never say anything."

"Yeah, well. I've got my ways." The Doctor took another step forward as Elle talked, moving a little more slowly. BAM! Another shot went off over his head. "Would you stop doing that. I really don't want to have to shoot you."

"But you said you wanted him dead." Adam didn't understand, and honestly neither did the Doctor.

"I have something much more elegant planned." Elle reached into her pants pocket and pulled out a small glass vial with a white tablet inside. "See this. Another one of my creations. Mix of carteostrophic nanocules and tulmenian powder with just a dash of B67."

The Doctor didn't move. He was trying to analyze what that combination of chemicals would do. The carteostrophic nanocules would stop his hearts within seconds. But why the tulmenian powder? Did she think that would stop his regenerating? Cause it wouldn't. At best it'd slow it down some. Then there was the B67. He knew he'd heard that before. But where?

Adam whispered something. The Doctor looked at him and Adam repeated himself, louder. "B67… Isn't that retcon?" Of course!

"But why use an amnesia pill if you want to kill the Doctor?" Danika asked.

"I don't want to kill him. No…" Elle smiled a wicked smirk. "I need him to walk away from this."

"But you said…" Danika started.

"He must be dead. The body must survive." Elle leveled her gaze at the Doctor. Her brown eyes holding his. "Have you figured it out yet?"

"The pill will kill me, but I'll just regenerate."

"Which is why I added the retcon." Elle said in a sing-song voice.

"What would that do?" Adam had finally left his post by the door and was inching closer to them. His curiosity had gotten the best of him.

"Normally, nothing. But when given at the exact moment of regeneration…"

The truth hit the Doctor like a ton of bricks. "I'll forget everything. Everything I've ever done. Everywhere I've ever been. All of it. Gone."

"And you'll cease to exist. You may regenerate but you won't be you. You won't even remember you. The perfect justice."

"Justice for what?" The Doctor asked weakly.

"I believe I can answer that." A familiar voice crackled over the Tardis comms. The Doctor must have snapped. He must be losing his mind. There was no way that on top of everything else today that he had heard that voice. He hallucinated it. He had to have. Only the other three people in the room reacted to the voice as well. So it had to have been real.

"Jack?"


End file.
